I am way out of the loop on this issue... is there a de facto backup shoftware/hardware that I can use on my dad's office? so when shit goes south I can just get it back up and running with minimal headaches? He has a server box with windows 2003.
any help or direction on the subject would be , uhm good.
server backup systems?
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Tormentius
- Posts: 4108
- Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2002 8:00 am
Re: server backup systems?
The built-in backup software included with Server 2003 is bare-bones but will get the job done. If you want more than that I'd recommend Symantec Backup Exec which is the industry standard.
Keep in mind that there is a huge gap between having a backup you have successfully run and think works and having a backup you've made a successful recovery test from. Tests should be a regular part of your network maintenance plan (at minimum every six months).
Keep in mind that there is a huge gap between having a backup you have successfully run and think works and having a backup you've made a successful recovery test from. Tests should be a regular part of your network maintenance plan (at minimum every six months).
Re: server backup systems?
BEWS 12 is as mentioned, industry standard. It's seriously fucking deficient in some areas of its support and interface, but still the standard, so gotta grin and bear it. That there's no serious competitor to it is sorta testimony to the problem of the field... gotta support a lot of disparate systems, hardware and software, and do it reliably.
That said, for specific technologies there's often better solutions rolled in-house or as 3rd party solutions. An example would be VMWare... the 3rd party backup tools available for that do a better job than BEWS.
Rant aside, for a single server go with the built-in tools and set up a script to copy the main flat files you need across to a tape or write to a CD every day.
Also make sure the raid setup is kosher and proactively monitored to alert you of any problems. Then the only reason you'll ever need to go to tape is human error on the live files.
That said, for specific technologies there's often better solutions rolled in-house or as 3rd party solutions. An example would be VMWare... the 3rd party backup tools available for that do a better job than BEWS.
Rant aside, for a single server go with the built-in tools and set up a script to copy the main flat files you need across to a tape or write to a CD every day.
Also make sure the raid setup is kosher and proactively monitored to alert you of any problems. Then the only reason you'll ever need to go to tape is human error on the live files.